The greatest moments in MLB All-Star history

By John Shea

Photo: Press, Associted photo by/AP

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GREATEST HOME RUN

Reggie Jackson turned the 1971 All-Star Game in Detroit into his coming-out party when he hit a home run that cleared the right-field fence 370 feet from the plate, went through a light tower and slammed against a generator atop the roof at old Tiger Stadium nearly 100 feet above the field.

The ball was still rising, they say. If untouched, it might have traveled more than 550 feet, they say.

"It was his way to say to the world: 'See, I told you,' " Vida Blue said. "It was his signature on all his smack -- and he wasn't afraid to talk smack. I liked that. He backed it up, and he always did it on a national stage."

After 11 innings, the 2002 All-Star Game in Milwaukee was tied at 7-7 and managers Joe Torre of the American League and Bob Brenly of the National League had used all of their players. Neither skipper had a fresh pitcher left, and both Freddy Garcia and Vicente Padilla had already worked two innings. Commissioner Bud Selig declared the game over.

Selig vowed such a mix-up would never happen again. Suggesting All-Star Games were becoming more of a social event and less of a competition, and nudged by the Fox network, he announced the league that wins the All-Star Game would gain home-field advantage for the World Series.

When John Kruk stood in against Randy Johnson, during 1993 game in Baltimore, the 6-foot-10 Johnson's first pitch was a 98-mph fastball that sailed over Kruk's head and hit the backstop. Kruk was dazed and amused as he backed off from three more pitches, all strikes.

In a rare on-field moment, Johnson cracked a smile.

"It was probably the most fun I had in an All-Star Game," Johnson said. "John played it off well. It went over well. Everybody liked it. It's one of those things that everybody remembers now."

MOST MEMORABLE AT-BAT When John Kruk stood in against Randy... Photo-6585682.89616 - SFGate

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GREATEST COMEBACK

In 1955, the American League raced to a 4-0 lead in the first inning behind Mickey Mantle's three-run homer off Robin Roberts and led 5-0 through six innings. The NL rallied for two runs in the seventh and three in the eighth to tie the score.

Stan Musial didn't start the game. In fact, get this: Neither did Willie Mays nor Hank Aaron. Talk about a deep bench. The starting outfield was Duke Snider, Don Mueller and Del Ennis, who was replaced by Musial as a pinch-hitter in the fourth inning.

Musial led off the 12th inning against Frank Sullivan of the Red Sox and blasted a Sullivan pitch over the wall at County Stadium in Milwaukee to give the National League a victory.

GREATEST COMEBACK
In 1955, the American League raced to a... Photo-6585698.89616 - SFGate

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MOST MEMORABLE PLAY

The manner in which Pete Rose took out Ray Fosse at the plate in 1970, scoring the game-ending run in the National League's 12-inning victory over the American League, made it the most rehashed play in All-Star history.

The play was unfortunate for Fosse, an A's broadcaster the past 20-plus years.
Fosse was a gifted 23-year-old Indians catcher with 16 homers and a 23-game hit streak before the break. The collision detoured a promising career, with Fosse sustaining a shoulder fracture and separation that initially went undiagnosed. He played eight more seasons and won two World Series rings with the A's, but never hit more than 12 homers in another season.

As for Rose, the hits king who's denied a spot in the Hall of Fame because of his gambling habits, the play in his hometown (Cincinnati) enhanced his Charlie Hustle celebrity.

MOST MEMORABLE PLAY The manner in which Pete Rose took out... Photo-6594451.89616 - SFGate

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BEST STRATEGY

Tony La Russa was the manager for the American League at the 1989 game, and he had a roster full of talent but no obvious candidate to be the leadoff hitter. La Russa took advice from pitching coach Dave Duncan and settled on Bo Jackson, who started the game by blasting a 448-foot homer off NL starter Rick Reuschel of the Giants.

The next inning, Jackson beat out a routine double-play grounder to drive in a run, and the AL was up to stay. He also singled, stole a base -- only Willie Mays had homered and swiped a bag in an All-Star Game -- and made an impressive running catch in left field to snag Pedro Guerrero's liner with two runners in scoring position and two outs in the first inning.

MOST MEMORABLE PITCH Ted Williams was an All-Star every year... Photo-6585684.89616 - SFGate

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MOST DOMINANT PERFORMANCE

The All-Star Game was in its second year in 1934 when Carl Hubbell (left) of the New York Giants put on a pitching performance that may never be equaled. Left-handed Hubbell used his uncanny screwball to strike out five consecutive batters, all future Hall of Famers — Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin.

Then again, Hubbell was no slouch. He was in the midst of five consecutive 20-win seasons that would seal his own place in the Hall of Fame (he was 253-154 with a 2.98 ERA in 16 seasons, all with the Giants). He pitched in three World Series, winning twice for the 1933 championship team that beat the Senators in five games, was a two-time NL MVP, and his retired No. 11 is displayed at China Basin.

"Carl Hubbell was a pretty historic baseball figure, and he's striking out gargantuan ballplayers, beginning with the most gargantuan and working his way through, an extraordinary feat," said Mike Gibbons, executive director of the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore.

MOST DOMINANT PERFORMANCE The All-Star Game was in its second... Photo-6585753.89616 - SFGate

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MOST MEMORABLE CEREMONY

Sometimes the best ceremonies are the ones that aren't totally staged.

Nobody quite knew what to expect when Major League Baseball gathered many of its greatest legends at Fenway Park before the 1999 All-Star Game.
A promotional "All-Century Team" lined up on the infield, and Boston's greatest player, Ted Williams, 80, and three years before his death, was the obvious centerpiece.

Willie Mays was there. So were Hank Aaron and Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Mike Schmidt and Brooks Robinson, along with the stars of the day: Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken Jr., Mark McGwire and Ken Griffey Jr.

But once Williams arrived at the mound, nearly 90 former and current players -- the biggest collection of premier baseball talent in history -- spontaneously crowded around him for an extended baseball love-in. Everyone was a kid again. This was a historic connection between ballplayers, past and present, and a close-up of Williams showed tears.

MOST MEMORABLE CEREMONY Sometimes the best ceremonies are the... Photo-6585814.89616 - SFGate

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GREATEST FAREWELL

Perfect script, perfect role, perfect presentation.

Cal Ripken Jr. had announced he was retiring after the 2001 season, so that year's Seattle-hosted All-Star Game was his finale. He was in the lineup because he overtook Mariners third baseman David Bell in the last week of voting to earn his 17th start and 19th appearance.

A-Rod coordinated with AL manager Joe Torre to switch positions for the first inning. A-Rod, voted in as the shortstop, walked over to Ripken moments before the first pitch and waved him to shortstop, Ripken's position for most of his Hall of Fame career.

In Ripken's first at-bat, he opened the third inning, received an extended standing ovation, acknowledged the crowd and swung at the first pitch -- pulling a home run into the visitors' bullpen off Chan Ho Park, becoming the oldest player to hit an All-Star homer, at 40.